Argentina enjoys Sydney seaside romp en route to RWC

SYDNEY – Winger Bautista Delguy scored four tries as Argentina romped to a 74-0 victory over Australian club Randwick at Coogee Oval on Saturday in the Pumas’ final match before the Rugby World Cup.

The two-time World Cup semifinalist ran in 12 tries in total as it exploited the clear gap in class between the sides on a sunny but blustery day in the beachside suburb of Sydney.

Tomas Cubelli, Julian Montoya, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Marcos Kremer and Santiago Carreras crossed as the South Americans built a 33-0 lead at the break.

Prop Nahuel Tetaz Chapparo crossed early in the second half before Delguy came off the bench to deliver a finishing masterclass by touching down four times in eight minutes.

Former captain Agustin Creevy and another of Argentina’s fine clutch of outside backs, Ramiro Moyano, added the final two tries in the last three minutes to bring an end to a week’s training camp in the city.

“It was a great experience for us,” said Pumas scrumhalf Cubelli. “We are really grateful to Randwick, it was the perfect preparation for the World Cup for us.”

Randwick’s distinguished list of former players includes Michael Cheika and Eddie Jones, the current Australia and England coaches, and the Galloping Greens were able to field recent Wallabies flanker Ned Hanigan on their starting team.

Former Australia hooker Adam Freier, still playing for the club at the age of 39, and 45-year-old dual code international winger Andrew Walker were also given a run-out off the bench in front of a packed house of about 5,000 fans.

Argentina will face much tougher opposition at the World Cup, where the Pumas have been drawn to play England, France, Tonga and the United States in Pool C.

The Pumas depart for Japan on Monday and open their campaign with a crunch match against the French in Tokyo on Sept. 21.